Cress Run.

 After our watercress run out to Roly proved to be unsuccessful Tuesday, Mart invited me out for a hike to gather some cress and to look for a shed.  When I came over the ridge I thought I had hit the jackpot but alas it was just a cow bone yard.

 We continued down the valley checking out all to little nooks and crannies along the limestone bluffs. 

 Imaging how the early people in this valley may have sat here on a sunny afternoon working on arrow head as they pursued the abundant wild game that lived in these valleys.

 I'm going to have to settle for a bag of watercress because I didn't find any sheds or arrow heads.  But, Mart did find this one that the squirrels had gotten to before him.

We found a good  spot out of the wind, snow and sleet in the bottom of the valley.






















 Across the valley a pair of Red tailed hawks nested high above the valley floor with one on the nest while the other called out shrill cries as a pair of crows came down the valley.

Red-tails  are monogamous and may mate for life. The female lays one to five eggs each year. Both sexes incubate the eggs for four to five weeks, and feed the young from the time they hatch until they leave the nest about six weeks later.

 Mart and I made plans to come back and check on them later on.  Maybe after the mushrooms start poppin.

Brew Ha Ha. HONEY BEER!

 Fermentation, now that's my kind of science and I'm so lucky to have several former students (Peter, Mike and now Christian) who really LOVE science or at least Beer!



Well, I gave brewing my own beer a try once, years ago.  With no success what so ever.  But, I know honey and these guys have got the beer brewing process down an I've been fortunate enough to have been part of their quality control group.

So, here's a pictorial guide to Christians latest "Science Project".

 Tonight we celebrated St. Patrick's Day at Mike and Maggies with some of Mikes Irish Red Ale.  There’s no need to bother with artificially colored beer when Ireland’s brewing heritage has so much to offer with its red hue and a toffee-like caramel malt and a great pairing with Mikes Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Below is Mikes two tier, three burner brewing set up.   Thanks for great friends and great beer!

Final Run for the Season

 Maxine explores among Native American Hazelnuts early Saturday morning which are found though out the Driftless region of Midwest.



It's short sleeve shirt weather.


This beautiful weekend brought the sugar season to a close.  With the temperatures creeping to near 70* and no fluctuations, dropping down below the freezing mark.  The sap flow has come to a stand still.  Fortunately I had about 50 + gallons of sap back from the previous week.

 Mart and Joan made it back North after wintering in Florida.








Jazz and Maxine got to do some exploring while Mart and I got caught up on things

 We spent most of the afternoon sitting back in the sunshine enjoying all the sounds in the timber.


As you sit you can hear birds of all kinds as the timber comes to life.


Cardinals are some of the earliest each morning.  Downy woodpeckers, nuthatches and a pair Palliated woodpeckers flew in tandem vocalizing the entire time. 

 When the sap gets to a full roll the pan will pop and hum as the water evaporates leaving the sweet, caramelized sugars behind.

 Sap and stoves in various stages along with my tapping drill.






When I got busy cleaning up I made a few good finds. The drill was a major discovery.

 I also found my rasp which is good to have for a few fine tuning projects.





















Hot and dry conditions led to a little fire behind the stove.  A guy can get sidetracked when you have so many projects in the mix.

As the weather changed to rain
my last visitors  made it down in the bush.

David and Maple came down from DBQ with their three kids and a buddy from Chicago.  I had a few bags of sap back for the kids to empty and some sap to sip.  We also had some marshmallows to roast for smoors.

I've got to get this crew down earlier next year because they were full of energy and they'd be a great help breaking sticks and burning things.  Having them stop by was a lot of fun.  

Cool and Clear.

 Rad was back in Bellevue playing down at the Mill after a twenty year hiatus.

Radoslav Lorkovica Croatian-born pianist/accordion player known to most everyone around here as “Rad,” played songs from his 1990 debut album “Clear and Cold,” an awesome rendition of On Your Way Down by Allan Touissant. Little Feet made it a big hit. It was on the same album as Dixie Chicken and he told a lot a stories of working on the Mill near 30 years ago with the usual suspects.



 

 Up early and on the river for a little paddle fish snaggin with Rich, Jerry and Josh.



Josh and I each had a fish with in the first 20 minutes on the water.  Each of them ran about 27 " from the eye to the fork in the tail.  Anything over 33"  you've got to cut loose.

 Down in the sugar bush I had lots of full bags of sap and it looks like we're in for a good run over the next few days.

 The sap is Cool and Clear and the bags are bags are a little iced up from last nights cold snap.

 Ice in the bag means one thing...



























Cold beverages.

Mighty LIMBer

 Mike was by this morning to do a little limb work on one of the old white oaks at the school house.

When we first moved out her 27+ years ago, our raised bed gardens got plenty of sunshine.  But, the tree has done well and grew and grew to the point that it was casting way too much shade on the back beds.


Mike geared up and scooted out on the limb and made quick work of the chore with a sweet little  Stihl arborist saw.

 Maybe 20 years ago I'd been out on that limb but this morning I was content with being the ground crew.

That one limb will provide plenty of warmth some winter and I've got a great deal of cleaning up to do a head of me. 

It really makes for a great morning when you can work with such a nice guy and then have a great breakfast with Mike and Susie.  One more day of clean up and this project is done.

But first, a night down at the Mill with a great crew rolling in to see Rad and maybe alittle paddle fishing in the morning.

February Draws to a Close.

 Even though the sun was shining bright it was still cold and crisp along the trout stream Friday evening. 

Over the past few weeks I traversed many miles over different terrine.


From secluded cedar ridges.  

To 30 year old white pine plantings in search of a shed antler

Finding a skull here or a scapula there.

 Yesterday I hit a maple timber on a western slope.  Here's a tap and a line that someone forgot to pull last spring.


Notice how the critters have chewed on the end of the lines.


I think I know this tapper.

 Score?  Well, it's better than nothing.



It's a shed from last spring. Small and chewed up from rodents looking for a nutritional meal.




















I spent the rest of the day and into the evening down in the sugar bush taping a few more trees, cleaning up wind fallen trees and firing up the stoves to boil a little sap